Best ebike helmets 2022 – Protect your head with a quality electric bike lid
We’ve put together a list of the best ebike helmets because ebikes are not exactly the same as other types of bikes. When you find yourself riding one of the best electric bikes on the market you’ll soon realise that you have different needs. On the one hand, there are the safety considerations that come with ebikes. Riding an ebike means higher average speeds and a heavier bike, and more speed and more weight mean more energy to handle in the event of an accident.
There are also practical, wearability considerations as well. Most electric bike helmets are similar to our list of the best commuter helmets but when you don’t have to work as hard for the speed you can travel, that changes things a bit. You’ll get up to speed faster and travel farther at higher speeds so you might consider features like built-in visors to keep debris from your eyes, and integrated lighting to allow drivers to see you approaching from further away. There are also different considerations for ventilation when you have to work less.
We know it’s a lot to consider and that’s why we’ve put our expertise and time to work to select some of our favourite ebike helmets together in this list for you. If you’ve started riding an ebike and you are ready for a new helmet, keep reading to see some of the products we think are going to work best.
Best electric bike helmets available today
If you want a helmet that looks futuristic and aero, with all the comfort and safety specifications, the Bexley is it. It features a MIPS slip liner to deflect rotational energy if you do crash and generous anti-microbial padding keeps it comfortable and hygienic, even after hundreds of rides.
Fixed ventilation ports are always an issue. In summer you never seem to have an adequate number of them and in winter they cool your cranium too much. The Bexley has ten primary vents, but four of which can be closed. If you are a dedicated winter rider, the ability to close those vents makes it less necessary to wear a skull cap or buff.
Making you visible to other road users is the Bexley’s integrated rear light, and a retractable Zeiss shield is part of the helmet’s front structure to protect your eyes from the rain, wind or debris.
The Bexley also has convenient fit ergonomics. Giro’s product team uses the Fidlock magnetic buckle to secure this helmet in place, a mechanism that can easily be operated even with gloved fingers.
This is a helmet with virtually every feature you might think about in an ebike helmet. The downside of that it’s not the cheapest, and it also weighs more than any other on this list at nearly 700 grams. With that said, if you like the general style and the integrated visor, but want something a little cheaper, check out the Cratoni below.
Ebike riders who get annoyed by wearing a helmet that is over 500g will be heartened by this option. The brand name might sound Italian, but Cratoni is German. And with its Commuter, the appeal is that light 400g weight classification and the presence of an active top vent.
Although this helmet does not have a slip-plane liner or integrated rear light, there are reflective bands as part of its rear structure. The retractable visor will keep your eyes shielded from weather and debris. Cratoni has also chosen to make the securing straps padded, which helps to increase comfort.
Another German ebike helmet option, from the people who make some of the best bike locks you can buy. Abus offers this helmet in a range of colours that include a vivid tennis ball yellow, whilst visibility is further enhanced with reflectors and an integrated LED rear light.
For ventilation, the Pedelec 2.0 has four inlet ports, with airflow leaving the helmet through nine outlet channels. Although none of these vents are adjustable, it is a fairly balanced fixed airflow design that works well to keep things cool.
Industrial designers at Abus have been mindful of hairstyle and ensured that the Pedelec 2.0 remains comfortable, even for riders who style their hair into a ponytail. Abus also uses the Fidlock magnetic buckle to secure chinstraps, which is considered one of the better systems of its type. The Abus might lack a MIPS liner, but it’s light, well ventilated, and there’s even an integrated rain cover.
If you want to ride a truly futuristic and digitally enhanced helmet, Lumos could be your brand of choice. Its Matrix takes the integration of smart lighting to another level.
This helmet uses the latest LED matrix lighting technology to make to produce impressive illumination. Not only can the Matrix project up to 1000 lumens of forward-facing light, but its rear LED panel, with 77 diodes, has the advantage of smart pulse technology. Riders can have the Matrix configured to signal turning intentions or even emergency deceleration warnings (much like a car would). This is way more light than any other helmet on this list, including the Bell Daily MIPS listed below as the best for bright light.
The difference is this is a far more expensive and heavier helmet. So you’ll have to decide what your version of a powerful integrated light actually means. If you are looking for a lightweight helmet the Bell is a better helmet but the Lumos is brighter, and the custom settings might sway your decision this way.
With a premium price, you would expect comprehensive safety features on the Lumos Matrix and it comes equipped with a MIPS liner. The ventilation profile might lack an abundance of vent ports, and there is only one size, but if you want an ebike helmet with smart lighting technology, the Matrix is an obvious choice.
Available in a range of four stylishly subtle colours (with traditional black and white adding fifth and sixth options), the Bern looks great. It has an integrated peak cap, to protect against the sun, and the overall structure gives great coverage.
Enhancing the Hudson’s safety is the presence of a MIPS liner inside, whilst Bern’s industrial designers have managed to package the helmet with 13 vent ports, delivering really decent airflow.
To make any ebike rider wearing a Bern Hudson more noticeable to other cyclists and drivers Bern integrates a 6.6-lumen lighting system. It is conveniently rechargeable with a micro-USB port and has sufficient endurance for 10 hours of use, but given many of the best rear bike lights have a lumen count in the hundreds, you’ll want to use this as a supplementary light, rather than the only one you use.
Hudson wearers can also select three modes for the functioning of their helmet light: steady, flash and pulse. With the combination of considered design, MIPS safety and visibility illumination, the Hudson is a very convincing ebike commuting helmet.
The Bell Daily is an affordable commuter helmet with some handy safety features. Bell’s vast experience in helmet design is clear with the Daily’s mix of ergonomic refinement, safety and attractive styling.
The helmet’s overall proportions and appearance are slick, without compromising structural safety. It has a MIPS liner to reduce rotational acceleration of the brain in the unfortunate event of a crash. The Daily’s MIPS inner does not reduce its ergonomic comfort, with Bell combining it with an Ergo-Fit retention system.
With a 20-lumen aft LED, the Daily MIPS ensures that any wearer is visible to traffic approaching from the rear. The design of this piece is similar to the Bern Hudson but there’s quite a bit more light available from the Bell so if that’s an important feature to you, consider the Bell Daily as a choice that makes more sense.
Urban helmets have to put up with a lot of wear and tear that something from our list of the best aero helmets will never experience. Sliding along a wall while clipped to the outside of a bag, keys dropped alongside them in a bag, any number of day-to-day activities that will scratch up a quality finish in no time.
For the Moebius, Kask uses a scratch-resistant ABS outer that does a good job keeping the helmet looking nice for a long time to come. One area where Kask does not do as good a job is in rotational impact protection. The brand is one of a small group of brands that believes the WG11 test proves there’s no need for additional rotational impact protection.
The field is so complex that they may well be correct but for those who’d rather be safe than sorry, one of the many options on this list that do include rotational impact might be a better choice. On the other hand, our testers regularly acknowledge that Kask helmets are some of the best fitting options on the market. A helmet that fits better may very well be the best choice but without a size small available, Mildred, in her review of the Kask Moebius, felt that it wasn’t as great a fit for those with smaller heads.
How to choose the best electric bike helmet
Should I consider integrated lights when riding an ebike?
An ebike means faster riding, more mixing with traffic, and if anything does happen a bigger bike involved in the accident. Sometimes the best way to stay safe doesn’t have anything to do with the ability of a helmet to mitigate trauma in an accident. A great strategy is to avoid accidents all-together and one way of doing that is greater visibility. We have a list of the best bike lights available, and often electric bikes have integrated lights, but too many lights is rarely an issue. Choosing a helmet with a light is a great way to help keep you safe while riding an ebike.
How important is venting when choosing an electric bike helmet?
Ventilation is a huge theme with the best road bike helmets; however, ebike helmets don’t have the same demands.
On a warm day, you want to experience the highest volume of airflow, but with an ebike, that logic is slightly suspended as you can use the bike’s pedal assistance to reduce workload and avoid heat build-up without sacrificing speed. You will still want some airflow through to keep your head fresh under the helmet though.
Most ebike helmets choose to ventilate heat by radiation rather than airflow. This allows heat to escape out of the helmet without having large vents which let rain or too much cold air in.
Should I get a motorcycle helmet for an ebike?
The simple answer to this is no. You might think an electric bike is just like a motorcycle, especially for US readers who have access to faster electric bikes, but they are not the same. Helmets designs are specific and testing is stringently controlled for the intended use. Motorcycle helmet designs take into consideration all the nuances of motorcycle design and aren’t appropriate for use when riding an electric bike. Although many companies are having discussions about the necessity of rotational impact protection, you really can have too much of a good thing. Motorcycle helmets are for motorcycles and if you aren’t on a motorcycle stick to the helmet designed for what you are riding.
How did we put together our list of the best ebike helmets?
The reality with helmets is that there’s some amount of trust we have to have in the promises made. Our team here at Cyclingnews is a group of dedicated cyclists and we spend a lot of time in helmets. Although a few of us have been unfortunate enough to test their protection, it’s not how we like to put together our recommendations for helmets.
Thankfully all helmets have to pass relevant government-mandated tests before hitting the stores in your country. What our team brings together in a list like this is our experience riding electric bikes and wearing helmets. We looked for options that will make the ride better each time you sit down on the bike.
